A bowl of chili with Trader Joe’s giant macaroni noodles

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

I feel like I have done it all – shopping in store, pick up, delivery and have been everywhere – Kroger (like any big supermarket), Walmart, Walmart Neighborhood Market (just the grocery part of a Walmart), Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Fresh Market.

I don’t want to even think about how much of my time and mental energy I have used on the task of grocery shopping.

We buy almost all of our gas and groceries on our US Bank Kroger credit card. Kroger is the king supermarket around here and the credit card gives us really good gas discounts. Last month it was ugly. I spent at least $1500 on groceries. That may not even be all of it since sometimes I don’t use the credit card. Since my salary has gone down in retirement, I have been doing a spending audit.

What I am trying now is to buy less. That’s it. It’s that simple. I’m trying to use up what I have before buying more even if it isn’t what I would ideally pick. In order to use it up, buying less is helping me.

I need a less crowded fridge so I don’t waste food. We need to eat what is going to spoil first, too.

Tom likes to take 2 cuties, one banana, and one Oikos Pro yogurt to work so I literally count out how many he needs a week for my list.

I do think by going in you can find some deals and discounts and adjust your meal plan possibly based on what you find. I have been buying some bagged salads that are discounted, for example. It often means that they are expiring that very day or the next. No big deal.

Recently we have eaten:

blackened tilapia sandwiches

BLTs

hot dogs

spaghetti

Doritos Tacos Locos Taco Salad – you make a taco salad and then put Taco Bell mild sauce (bottle from the Mexican aisle at the grocery) and crushed up original Doritos on top

Loaded baked potato and salad

Salmon, broccoli, and potatoes (Tom says he needs a break from the salmon!)

A couple of things I have realized…

It’s ok to have a sandwich for dinner.

It’s ok to not all eat the same thing as the other family members. Use up or repurpose leftovers one night.

You don’t need two sides. You can just have one.

I have more energy in the morning so I made my taco meat in the morning. It’s wonderful to have the bulk of the work done when 5:00 rolls around!

I am trying to embrace the summer meals and foods but looking forward to what I consider to be more fall foods! That bowl of chili at the beginning of my post looks good to me!

If you are a teacher or have kid starting school, I would say plan super simple meals for the first week.

It’s not joke that our groceries are super expensive right now. I do think by sticking to real food and not as much packaged and processed food I can save money. That’s the goal.

So, I used to think that buying more and going in the store/ordering/getting delivery less often (but buying more at a time) saved money but now I feel like buying less at a time is going to save money. I am excited to compare this month’s amount to last month’s of $1500ish.

What grocery epiphanies have you had recently?

What meals have you been cooking or craving?

Amy

35 thoughts on “A Grocery Epiphany”

  1. I have no epiphanies when it comes to grocery shopping but I also can’t seem to get our bill below $400 a week no matter what I do… and if it’s close to or just barely over $400 there is a good chance we’re going to run out of something important by the next trip. That said I try to do without it anyway and not stop again.

    This year our CSA box hasn’t been working out nearly as well– through no fault of the farm the produce just isn’t as great and I’ve actually had to throw away some things! I hate food waste. We are usually really good about using up the fresh before it’s gone bad but some of these veggies are already looking pretty sad by the time I get home.

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    1. Well, you never eat out and you do a lot of cooking and have a big family! I spent $1500 last month so yours would be about $1600. It just seems like the prices are so high now!

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      1. Yeah and not just groceries either; we have solar panels and last summer we made enough power that we went into fall with a surplus on our bill. This year they’ve changed up their billing style and even though we used 0 power from them last month our bill was still $25 for the “delivery” fee (the cost to keep the lines/poles/etc. going). I mean I get it (kind of) but it was weird being charged delivery fees even though they had delivered nothing. This month our bill was over $100 and $75 of it was on the delivery side. I noticed our internet bill went up too and both our streaming services as well. I feel like the more other bills raise the more I try to keep groceries small; other than Alec (who eats a lot at work for cheap or free) we all do eat every meal at home or pack lunches to take to work so I know we’re probably doing pretty good overall but I still look forward to the day where I don’t need 2 carriages to leave the store!

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  2. I agree, the packaged and processed foods are expensive – and frankly not that healthy anyway. I try to avoid them. Our grocery bill has no doubt gone up now that Collin is home – and he eats a lot! Also, he takes his lunch to work so whatever I make needs to have plenty of leftovers!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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      2. Lol – that sounds like my husband. Maybe he will have the sweet idea to treat his sweet parents to a take out or meal out one night because of their generosity?

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  3. It’s shocking every single time I get the receipt. I try to go in the grocery only twice a week. I’d do just once, but produce bought on Monday doesn’t look appealing by Saturday so I typically do a pre-weekend run. Never as much money as the main shop. I try to set an amount to stay under each week and that keeps me from buying too many impromptu items. I look forward to fall meals too. It will probably still be hot here, but football and chili go together. Have a nice day!

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    1. Right? I am doing about twice a week, too, unless I pop into Trader’s or our little market or Fresh Market. Now that I have time I think sometimes it’s better just to see how the week shapes up.

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  4. I’ve been trying to cook out of the freezer and pantry to use up what we have before buying more. I like to be well stocked and not run out of things but there’s a point when we need to start using up the back stock. I make a list of what I want to use up and make meals around it.

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  5. I make menus each week, then a list and I still spend over $400 per week. I did a grocery store compare shopping a few months back, a pain, and found them all to be similar in price, maybe a few variables. I think I need to use more of what we have. I remember my grandmother was able to make a delicious dinner out of what she could find in the fridge and pantry. She got creative and it was always good. I need to channel that!

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  6. This is such a simple and great idea. I honestly have shopped like this since it’s been just Jonah and me at home; many weeks our groceries don’t total $100! It’s great that you realized you can cut back with things like making one side instead of two. Any little bit helps, right?!

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  7. Loved reading this and I agree! It might sound silly but I used to feel like I had to buy everything for the week all at once – mostly because I don’t have a lot of time and also because I hate thinking about meal planning and grocery shopping. Anyway, in the past year, especially with delivery option, I’ve given myself “permission” to just order what I need and either pick up twice a week or pick up bulk of what I need once and if we get to Thursday and need dinner or few odds and ends, I will place small delivery. We still probably spend more than I want to, but I do feel like me doing two smaller/medium sized orders.

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    1. Right? It took me a long time to figure this out. The Kroger pick up is free with $35 and that’s easy to achieve! Teach your new drivers how to do pick up! I see teens doing it all the time at mine. Love that!

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  8. It would be interesting (read, horrifying!) to know how much I’ve spent at the grocery store this summer. I do try to shop the sales and stock up when items we use on repeat are on sale. However, Donnie and Jacob both like leftovers for lunch so dinner requires A LOT of food to be prepared (and that’s even usually with just one side). I’m thrilled our town has an Aldi now. I’ve shopped there for just a few items that I’ve needed- before I would had had to go to Kroger for those items and paid more.

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    1. You probably don’t want to know! I cannot figure out how much of a savings Aldi is. I wasn’t impressed the last time I went. I think it depends on what you buy?

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  9. Teens make grocery shopping way more expensive. Junk food costs more now, and my “healthier” hauls get some complaints. I’ve tried Aldi, but smaller portions made the savings meh. Sticking to more generics, but it’s still a game of budgeting vs. teen snack diplomacy.

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  10. Hi Amy!

    I found in retirement I go SO much more to the store. If I need lettuce for dinner I buy it that day. I find running in for 1 or 2 things is so much easier. I buy meat and pantry stuff maybe once a week. Tonight I wants taco bowls, thanks for the idea! I have to go get sour cream and lettuce, I feel like I have the time now, so who does not want fresh stuff? The prices are out of control right now!

    Hope you have a great day!

    Cheers,

    Missy

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  11. I don’t buy packaged food much (aside from chips, but not individual packs) and cereal (the bougie kind lol) but this is something I’m truly working through in real time!

    I meal-plan, and always have. I have no advice other than to make what you’ll eat and only plan on leftovers if you know they’ll be eaten. Like, for the 4 of us (Sutton barely counts), I make 1-2 chicken breasts in whatever I’m making with chicken. We don’t need 3-4 because there’s a chance no one will eat it all. I buy big tubs of yogurt and applesauce and cottage cheese instead of the individual ones.

    I am going to make a costco trip, maybe next week, to get meat. If you don’t have a warehouse membership, it’s worth it just to fill your freezer all at once.

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  12. We tried Hello Fresh for about a month. I was disappointed in the lack of vegetables and over abundance of carbs. The proteins were really good. I now have some ideas for meals which was one of my goals. It did not, however, cut my grocery bill. I still had to buy for lunches and breakfasts. For just the two of us, our bill is usually $100 or so, but I make the proteins stretch by making things like chicken that can be used in soup, tacos, and/or salads.

    https://marshainthemiddle.com

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  13. Groceries – oh my! We are a household of four (two adults and two young adult exchange students). This time last year, we spent $150 to $175/week, this year it is $200 to $225/week for pretty much the same things. Prices have gone up so much! We do not eat out much, maybe once a week or a few times a month. I meal plan every week and cook most of the meals from scratch. I pick up my grocery orders on Fridays or Saturdays. By the following Friday, my fridge/pantry is looking empty. I usually double my recipes – so instead of 4 portions, I make 8 portions. Leftovers are used for lunch/next day. It still is cheaper to cook larger portions and use them the next day than to stop and get fast food for lunch the next day. Sometimes I make just one side, but cooking/eating two sides is cheaper than going out for ice cream/eating a snack later in the evening. We hardly ever throw away any food/groceries. Sometimes I make recipes from the “Meals for under $10” category from Budgetbytes website. What I could do better is to shop at Aldi for milk, eggs, spices, etc and then somewhere else for the things I can not get at Aldi, but I am still working full time and I am grateful when I have completed one weekly grocery shopping trip.

    Our girl exchange student has great talent cooking with whatever ingredients she finds in the fridge/pantry. Some of her combinations are downright delicious, while others are a little questionable. But as long as someone cooks for me, I will not complain.

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  14. It’s just the two of us. We eat a lot of salads in the summer and eat out about twice a week because some specials cost less if I were to make them at home. The grocery bill is higher than ever before.

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    1. That’s pretty good for 6. I only have 3-4 eating. You should see some savings. I feel like families are home and eat more in the summer? So smart. I want to get to zero food wast.e.

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  17. groceries are expensive anymore! I’m feeding a household of 5 adults as my 20somethings are all living at home right now and it’s been a lot! I try to keep the packaged snacks (cookies and chips) to a minimum to help reduce the bill. I still work full time and haven’t figured out a time mideeek for a smaller pick up but I like that idea to refresh the produce. I had to throw out some fruit that went bad before we could eat it last week which is frustrating and feels so wasteful. I’ve been bulk prepping meals on Sunday for a couple hours so that dinner is mostly ready on weeknights especially for nights when my prep window isnt until 7pm. Great suggestion to focus more on using things up, I think I need to remind myself that they don’t need a multi course meal each night and that a grilled ham and cheese with bagged salad is perfectly acceptable.

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    1. Yes they are! That’s a lot of mouths to feed. I am trying to keep it simple. Last night we just had chicken enchiladas with no side but anyone could have tortilla chips and salsa if they wanted – lol.

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